Hands Off
by GabbyDunk
Summary: Stephanie and Ranger dancing around being together.
1. Chapter 1

Lula and I were happily celebrating our successful capture of Wally Williams. We earned these drinks after chasing Wally up and down Stark Street and needed them to bleach our brains after seeing "all" of Wally's "glory" flopping in the wind when his pants caught on a jagged fence and tore open. Let's just say -Wally without underwear is not the same as some others without underwear, and I'm having a hard time unseeing that.

"Damn right," yelled Lula, over the din of the exuberant happy hour crowd. "You know what we need? We need to find us some young, able-bodied men and show them ..." Lula, already a few margaritas in, tapered off and stared across the bar, mouth hanging open.

Grinning at the thought of Lula - in her neon orange track suit and, for today, pink and orange streaked hair - awestruck over something, I turned to see what got her attention.

And my mouth went slack, too.

Sitting across the bar was a table full of young, able-bodied men - young, able-bodies men I knew well; young, able-bodied men out of their Rangeman uniforms and in jeans and muscle-hugging t-shirts...and apparently, drunk as skunks! Their table was littered with beer bottles, and Lester, Bobby, Cal, Vince, and Slick were whooping it up.

They made me smile, even drunk. I felt such pride when I looked at them. They are such good guys, and my friends. My hot, hot, hot friends. "They're something, aren't they, Lula?"

"You ain't kidding, White Girl." Lula has a thing for Bobby - an unreturned thing, but Bobby is too polite to let his feelings show.

Walking over to them, maybe stumbling a little, I said, "Whoo Hoo" to get their attention. Lester jumped up, his chair flipping backwards, and gave me a hug before passing me around to the other guys. "What's up, guys? What's the occasion? Ranger finally sending Lester to a third world country?"

"Beautiful, I'm hurt." Les is all drama. "It's National Beer Day!"

"Of course it is. And looks like you guys have done a bang up job celebrating it."

Taking the beer Vince handed me, I asked, "Where is your illustrious boss tonight?"

"He passed on tonight. But...I bet we can get him here in record time. Come here, Beautiful! I'm gonna take one for the team!" Then he mumbled, "Well, for Ranger's team anyway." Adjusting his chair, he pulled me on his lap and wrapped his arms around me. I relaxed into him, willing to pull the tiger's tail just a little.

You see, Ranger and I are idiots. We can't manage to get our shit together long enough to figure out what we are to each other, so we just keep on with some light flirting, kissing, groping, and innuendo. It's gotten a tiny bit more ... hmmm ... frequent since Joe and I called a permanent end and truce four months ago, but nothing either of us would consider official. I'm pretty sure he's not flirting, kissing, or groping with anyone but me, and I feel good about that.

We smiled big for Bobby, who snapped our picture with Lester's phone. Lester, brave guy, texted Ranger the picture captioned "National Beer Day must be my lucky day!"


	2. Chapter 2

Being the boss sucked sometimes, I thought as I rubbed my hands over my face. Fucking paperwork multiplies when you aren't looking.

I was getting ready to call it quits when Tank, my second in command, walked in and sat in the chair across from my desk. Saying nothing, he leaned back and shut his eyes. "We need help. Someone to do this shit."

I agree. "Yeah, it's time." Glancing at my watch and seeing it's after 8:00 already, I tell him, "Get Rodriguez on it tomorrow. Go home."

My phone beeped with a text. From Lester - what now?

Opening it as I pushed back from my desk, I stopped midway up and ground out "What the FUCK?"

Tank, instantly on alert, stood up. "What?"

"I'm going to kill him."

Tank always has my back, especially in jest when I need it, "Who are we killing now, man? I need food first - this paperwork is killing ME."

"Lester." I flipped him my phone. "Fucking Lester. Hands the fuck OFF."

Tank studied the picture and smirked, the fucker. "I could go for some Shorty's."

Ten minutes later we were walking into a packed Shorty's. I spotted Lula's neon first and saw my guys and Stephanie and Lula squeezed around a too-small table drinking and laughing. Luckily for Lester's health, Steph was sitting next to Lester and not ON him.

I know Lester. I trust him. I trust him at my back in a shitstorm. And I know what he intended when he sent that text. So, here I am asshole and, yeah, hands the fuck OFF.

Lester saw me coming, saw my death glare, and just grinned like an idiot. Stephanie's sensor must have been a little slow tonight with the alcohol in her system because I got within three feet of her before she rubbed her neck. Her curly hair was partially tied back and falling half way down her back, covering most of what her tank top didn't cover.

Turning, and in the exaggerated way of drunk people everywhere, her already big blue eyes got even bigger when she saw me.

Lester, the dumbass, piped in with, "So what brings you out tonight, Boss?"


	3. Chapter 3

He's going to get himself killed, I thought. Les just doesn't know when to shut his mouth.

I stood up and turned. And studied the perfection that is Ranger Manoso - tall, lean, with wiry ripped muscles covered in black dress pants and a black long sleeve shirt pushed up his arms. He'd let his hair grow since last time he'd had to shave it when he was in the wind, but it was still pretty short and just a little bit shaggy. My heart sighed, and I held my hand out to him to invite him into the group.

Ranger took my hand, but instead of coming towards me, he tugged me to him. "Babe."

"It was nothing, Ranger. Just a joke. Really. I'm glad you're here. Come sit with us?"

He pulled me in closer, flush against him, and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "You want to help me find a woman?" At my confused look, he continued, "To sit on my lap?" At my narrowed eyes, he said, "What? You don't want to see me wrapped around some other woman?"

My heart dropped. No, I didn't want to see him wrapped around another woman. I didn't want to see him and another woman anything. That might be my worst nightmare. I'd want to claw her eyes out, or puke. Or maybe both.

I get it.

"I'm sorry, Ranger. Bad judgment. Bad joke. No, I don't want to see that. I really, really don't want to see that."

"Why not?"

Taking a deep breath, I muscle up my courage. You gotta pay to play. "Because I consider you mine."

Which earned me a slow smile. "Exactly, Babe." And the tightening of his arms around me and a long, slow, deep kiss. Now, pleased with himself and his public display of affection, he again leaned down and whispered, "Les is an ass, but your ass is mine. No sharing." Hmm, make that his public display of affection AND possession.

"Umm, Ranger, I like the thought - love it actually, but my ass is...well...off limits."

Smirk. "We'll see." Looking over my shoulder, he pinned Lester with a death glare and said it - "Hands the fuck OFF." 


End file.
